


ashes to ashes

by AllOfThisMatter



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Family, Gen, Home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 09:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3482720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllOfThisMatter/pseuds/AllOfThisMatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jupiter gets back to her roots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. from dust you came

The sun rose outside her window, trailing a dazzling array of otherworldly colors in its wake. It was lovely, heart-achingly so, but it just didn’t hold her interest. She sighed, reaching her limbs up and out in a long, luxurious stretch, and laid a hand on the bedside table control panel. The rendering software in the window shut off, leaving the window to display only the dull reddish glow of the hurricane clouds that wrapped around her palace. 

Jupiter was silent for several moments, just staring across the magnificence of her home. Somewhat belatedly, she turned to check the reports panel on Caine’s nightstand. He was out of bed already, not at all to her surprise, but she was hopeful that he didn’t have anything too pressing to do this week. She needed him all to herself for a few days. Not that she didn’t always have him all to herself, but she very much tried not to monopolize all of his time, because he would let her, unquestioningly, and then neither of them would ever get anything done. She smiled wickedly to herself, toes curling with the memory of just how unproductive they had been last night, when they should have been going over the sales reports. 

He emerged from their bathroom, freshly showered and distractingly lovely as always. She took a moment just to look at him.

“Good morning, handsome,” she purred as he leaned over the bed to press a kiss to her cheek.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he answered. “You turned off your sunrise already?”

She looked back to the window again as he began tidying up their room, straightening papers and picking up clothes. 

“I need to see a real sunrise, Caine.”

He stopped cleaning and sat down on the bed, gentle eyes glowing with concern and gentle arms gathering her close.

“You know, Stinger and Kiza have been down at the farm for a few weeks now. They always love it when we come visit. Think you can tear yourself away from your queenly duties for just a little while?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She may indeed be a queen, a citizen and sovereign of the universe itself, but she belonged to the earth. Jupiter Jones was made of dust and wind and sunshine, of blue skies and oceans and forests. Now and then, an ache settled deep in her bones to go home, to gaze at stars from a blanket on a rooftop, to skinny dip on a moonlit night, to nap in a sunbeam on a front porch swing.

 _You can take the girl out of the earth, but you can’t take the earth out of the girl_ , she thought with a wry smile on her face as her small clipper approached the blue planet. Continents and mountains began to take shape beneath the haze of clouds that perpetually swathed her home in brilliant, shining white. As long as she lived— and that could be a very long time— she would never tire of sailing straight into the sunlight as it broke over the curve of the earth, with the vastness of space behind her and the promise of home before.

There were three places on this planet that were held in stasis through architectural mods. Two were in Chicago, and the other was a white farmhouse with a wide front porch, beautiful gardens, and hundreds of bee hives. Jupiter practically jumped out of the clipper before it landed, she was so anxious to feel solid ground beneath her feet and air on her skin. And then she was running up the path and the door was opening and there they were, arms and smiles wide. They always smelled like honey and springtime.

Stinger made breakfast-for-dinner, like he always did when they came to visit, and then the four of them ended up in the living room, watching some very, very old movies. Namely, a few John Hughes films that were very close to Jupiter’s heart. 

Jupiter was so warmly content, curled up in Caine’s lap with his arms around her waist, her head pillowed on his shoulder. Honestly, it was very hard to focus on the movie when his hands were tracing patterns on her hips and his lips were pressed to her temple, softly, so achingly softly. If Kiza and Stinger weren’t on the couch next to their chair…

Oh, but she was glad to see them. For so many long years, they had been her friends, her family. And it just felt right for all of them to be here, on this planet, in this house, together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She woke with the sun, lying beside Caine in the upstairs guest room. It was breathtaking, a heavenly chorus of yellows and pinks and oranges and reds staining the clouds and bathing the earth in a warm golden glow. Jupiter rolled from the bed and padded to the window, pushing the curtains further to the side and opening the clasped doors. A soft breeze kissed her face, and she breathed a contented sigh into the morning air. The corn swayed in the same little gusts of wind that played with her hair and set goosebumps into her skin. She closed her eyes, peace settling in the lonely corners of her soul with every birdsong that floated past the window.

Strong arms wrapped around her. He was still running at a sleeping temperature, markedly higher than usual, and she purred contentedly at the contrast of the morning air before her and his warmth at her back. Caine pressed a kiss to her head.

“Feel better now?” He asked, gesturing toward the sunrise.

“Much.”


	2. to dust you shall return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's afraid of losing herself.

She tended the bees with Kiza while the boys worked in the gardens. Jupiter, in the span of her years, had developed an intense fondness for bees, and she liked having apiaries at her estates, but this place was her favorite. The bees weren’t so much kept as they were pampered, allowed to build their hives absolutely anywhere on the property and given the lushest greenery to work with. And the honey they made. It was her favorite in all the ‘verse.

It was that time of year where the morning was slightly chilly and the afternoon was slightly hot, and a slow breeze created a delightful chill on sweat-dampened skin. They finished their work with the sun poised gracefully in the middle of the sky, and went inside to make lemonade and sandwiches. Dabbing at her glowing skin with a kitchen towel, Jupiter stepped onto the back porch to see how the gardens were faring under Caine and Stinger’s incessant bickering. She was pleasantly surprised to find them working in peaceful silence. Smiling, she leaned against the railing and plucked the paper fan from the back pocket of her jean shorts, unfolded it and waved it lazily at her chest and neck.

“Did you try that mulch I recommended for the tomatoes? That stuff from Chorang V?” Caine paused to ask, sitting back on his heels and blinking up at the sky.

“No, I told you, they didn’t have any last time I was off-world at the markets. But I’ll keep looking, if only to shut you up.”

Jupiter laughed at the beginnings of what was sure to be a ten minute insult trade-off. Both men turned to her, Stinger with a mischievous grin and Caine with a frown.

“Hey, before you start in on us, he was the one that had to get snarky,” Caine said, hands raised in defense.

“Oh hush, you silly boys. We’ve made lunch and we want to take it out by the lake, so get your tools put away,” she answered, snapping the fan shut and turning back to the door with a teasing sway to her hips.

“You’re a lucky bastard, Caine Wise,” she heard Stinger say behind her.

“I know,” came the chuckled reply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jupiter stretched languidly on her beach towel and set aside her hat and sunglasses in light of the sun’s descent. She sat up and rebraided her hair, considering getting in the lake for a dip. Kiza was lying on her stomach next to her, reading a magazine and sipping lemonade. Both of them had been layering lovely tans this week, sporting the adorable suits Kiza had picked up while away at school.

Caine and Stinger were still fighting by the water’s edge, and she decided they all needed a change of pace. She stood up and ran towards them.

“Let’s play dive-bomb!” She shouted on her way.

Caine groaned as she jumped into Stinger’s arms, cackling maniacally as he shot into the air above the lake.

“Stinger! Not too high,” he yelled up at them as he waded further into the lake.

“Oh, stuff your whining, pup! I’ve not hurt her yet and I’m not going to now,” he laughed back he took Jupiter’s hands and let her dangle beneath. “Ready, girl?”

“3! 2! 1! Go!” She shrieked and giggled as he let go and she tucked her legs in close. True to their aim, she landed with a colossal splash right next to where Caine floated on his back. She broke the surface already laughing at the tired expression she knew she’d find on his face. “You’re next!” 

He always tried very hard to disapprove of this game, but failed, an obliging smile curling lightly at his lips. He jerked his head in the direction of the shore, and she followed, finding herself naturally in his arms once they were on solid ground. Caine raised his eyebrows in challenge and she smirked, ruffling his hair and proclaiming, “Up, up and away!”

She always suspected it was just that he didn’t trust anyone else, even Stinger, to willingly perform death-defying stunts with his queen, because in no time at all they were easily a thousand feet above the lake before he gathered her close for a free fall of a second or two. Then his wings snapped back open and they settled into a lazy downward spiral over the water until they were level with it and Jupiter could drag her fingers through the little waves left over from their antics. He grinned down at her, distracting her with a kiss before flipping her into the lake. She came back up spluttering but still laughing as she grabbed his ankle and tugged him in.

Predictably, there was a splash fight that Stinger broke up with a shouted promise of dinner from the shoreside. Kiza rolled her eyes at them, still shoving each other lightly as they made their way out of the water. “Children, the pair of you,” she said, voice tinged with amusement and affection as she tossed them their towels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later she and Caine were tangled together, surrounded with an absurd amount of blankets as they stargazed on the farmhouse’s roof. His hands were determinedly working at a knot in her back and she sighed.

“Where are you right now?” he murmured, one hand sliding up to sift through her hair.

“Mm… can’t a girl brood in peace without her husband knowing exactly what she’s thinking and feeling?” 

His gentle laughter rumbled in his chest beneath her, causing her toes to curl in her ridiculous cloud-print fuzzy socks.

“Must I really coax it out of you, Jupiter? Or should I just tell you what I’ve already surmised… Your Majesty?”

“Damn. You’re a cheater. A cheating cheater. With all your cheaty sweet talking.”

“That’s me. Cheaty McCheaterson, sweet talker. Now, why won’t you just tell me that you want to go see the Chicago house?”

“Because, well, I don’t know. It’s just become such a spectacle. Caine, there’s literally tourists crawling all over the house I grew up in. ‘This is the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Jupiter Jones of House Abrasax blah blah blah blah blaaaaah. It’s just weird, okay?”

“Mm, I’m calling your bluff. You know the Aegis always clears the area before you visit. Come on, you haven’t been to see it in, what, a few decades? Just tell me.”

She buried her face in his chest, trying and failing to fight back tears.

“Jupiter. Hey. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong,” he said softly, pulling her closer.

She could scarcely speak now, her throat closing around sobs. “I’m not sure it’s something that can be fixed.” She sat up and turned her face to the stars once more. “I—“

“Yeah?”

“I’m starting to forget them, Caine. It’s so frightening. I can’t hear Nino’s laugh anymore. I can’t smell my mother’s perfume. And if I go back into that house without being able to picture them there… Oh God I don’t know what I’d do. It wouldn't be right. They deserve better.”

“Hey. Look at me. Jupiter. It’s okay. You’re not going to forget them. I promise you. They made you who they are. You’re a Bolotnikov through and through. They will never leave you.”

She turned back to him and smiled a heart-achingly sad smile. “How can you know?”

“Please, Jupiter. Trust me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Queen of the Earth was practically putting down roots in the sidewalk in front of her cousin’s house. The architectural mods had literally maintained it in exactly the state it had been in when the last inhabitants had moved or passed away. Caine stood beside, trying not to be pushy but also not about to let her weasel out of going inside. After a few more minutes, he gently touched her elbow and she shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Let’s go in.”

Pulling the key from her pocket like it was still something she used everyday, she turned the lock and pushed the door open. Tears pricked at her eyes and at the back of her throat. “No. I can’t. I can’t see them here anymore,” she whimpered as she turned to go. Jupiter ran smack into Caine’s chest, however, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey. No backing out now. I wanted to wait till we got here to tell you. I thought it would be better if we were here, in the house. Jupiter, you have a neural tab embedded behind your ear, right? That works as your perception filter, your comm, lots of things, right?”

She sniffled, eyebrows furrowed as she replied that yes, of course, obviously she did.

“It has access to all of your brain’s computing power, reasoning abilities, and… your memories. The human brain forgets nothing, Jupiter. It just misplaces things, that’s all.”

“What are you getting at?”

He turned her back into the house. “Close your eyes. Now, four quick taps should do it.”

Eyes closed, she hesitantly reached a hand to key in the command, and when she opened them she gasped, pressing a hand to her mouth in surprise.

There they were, in vivid technicolor, having dinner around the cramped table. Vladie was bickering with the girls, Vassily was shouting his demands for English, her mother and Nino were whispering rude things to each other in Russian. She could smell latkes.

She turned back to Caine, eyes filling with tears again. “You’re telling me… that I can see them, hear them, smell them, exactly as they were, anytime I want?”

“Any memory you were present for, your tab can access, Your Majesty.”

Jupiter threw her arms around him again, laughing and crying in equal measure. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this sooner, but damn, is it a nice surprise.”

He smiled that soft, gentle smile as he looked down at her with those soft, gentle eyes. “I promised you that you wouldn’t forget them. Okay now?”

She scrubbed at her face, red rimmed eyes still bright with tears but shining with peace and contentment. “Better than okay. I’m on top of the world.”

He chuckled and kissed her, arms lifting her off the floor.

“You’re still in trouble though, mister.”

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Jupiter Ascending or any of its characters.


End file.
